The 10 Best Super Bowl Ads

David Beckham, Audi Vampires, and Mr. Quiggly top our list

(NEWSER) - At $3.5 million for a 30-second slot , they better be brilliant, right? So far so good with Super Bowl ads for 2012: Matthew Broderick's Ferris Bueller revamp for Honda and Jerry Seinfeld's comic turn with the Soup Nazi for Acura have been popular online. Now Super Bowl ads are thundering across the Internet well before game-time, the Washington Post reports. Check out the prime pickings in our gallery. More»

...about $3.5M, up from last year's $3M

(NEWSER) - Big money, big money, no whammies? When it comes to Super Bowl XLVI, the big money sure has poured in: The commercial slots are officially sold out, at a cost of about $3.5 million for 30 seconds. The no whammies part remains to be seen... The Wall Street Journal reports that, bad economy and all, the price took a big jump over last year's $3 million. And this year's figure represents a 59% increase since 2001, a year in which 30-second commercials ran about $2.2 million. More»

Megan Fox is great, but most ads are in 'meh' territory

(NEWSER) - It's a rare year when the Super Bowl itself eclipses the ads, but 2010 was such a year. Bob Garfield declares in Advertising Age that most of the spots were skippable and asserts he is "totally pro-TiVo." His picks for a few of the (relatively speaking) best and worst: The good (3.5 or 3 stars):

• Audi: This spot about overzealous eco-police is "very funny for all the obvious reasons."
• Chrysler: The company figured out a way to "reach manly men without bullying girly men" in a spot selling Dodge Chargers.
• Budweiser: The 15-second spot for Select 55 offers "no horses, no babies, no jokes. Just 15 seconds of interesting news."
• Denny's: It's overdone, sure, "but the public doesn't care about novelty." The chain successfully promoted its free breakfast Tuesday, and people will line up.

Game? What game?

(NEWSER) - There's probably supposed to be a game or something on tonight, but for legions of Americans, Super Bowl Sunday is all about the commercials. EW jumped in its way-back machine and dug up the 11 most memorable big-game distractions. They were:

• Cindy Crawford drinks a Pepsi (1992)
• The Ridley Scott-directed 1984 Macintosh ad (1984)
• Jordan and Bird's Shoot-off (1993)

Jerry battles for new car

(NEWSER) - First it was Matthew Broderick as Ferris Bueller ; now, Jerry Seinfeld is looking back on past glories in a Super Bowl ad, Mashable reports. The commercial features Seinfeld battling to be the first to own a new Acura NSX. Trouble is, another guy already has dibs. So Seinfeld offers him everything from the Soup Nazi himself to a visit with the "last living Munchkin." In the end, another well-known car lover wins out. See the video at left in the gallery. More»